Detroit's Urban Wheel Awards Approach 'Oscar' Status

DETROIT, Dec. 5, 2006 -- An "Oscar" for the auto industry? "Why not? After all, cars touch as many lives as movies do," says Randi Payton, President of On Wheels, Inc. and producer of Detroit's shimmering Urban Wheel Awards event. Equal parts entrepreneur, philanthropist and showman, Payton has been working to make the people of color behind the cars we drive more visible to the general public for the past 11 years. His brainchild, the 11th Annual Urban Wheel Awards will take place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at the Max M. Fisher Music Center, located at 3711 Woodward Ave. in Detroit, Michigan. Held in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show, Hollywood celebrities will present awards to auto companies, auto executives, the top urban car and truck, and to the best automotive diversity advertisements.

Rivaling music and film industry awards programs in glamour, panache, style and pageantry, Detroit's annual Urban Wheel Awards event has evolved from its modest beginnings in 1996 to this global, multi-national, multi- cultural spectacular that it is today. What started out as a gesture of gratitude to thank supporters of On Wheels, Inc. has grown into a community- and industry-wide evening of recognition. Attended by a formidable cadre of highly influential guests from both inside and outside the auto industry, the event has broadened its award categories, has attracted nationally known celebrities and is now an absolutely must-attend experience. While the Urban Wheel Awards professes many similarities to the Academy Awards, there is one major difference. At the Urban Wheel Awards the auto industry is the royalty and Hollywood royalty joins in saluting the auto industry companies and executives who have made the auto industry a beacon of diversity on the highways of life. The show will be hosted by movie sensation Vivica Fox and comedian Alex Reymundo with a royal court of presenters such as comic Tommy Davidson, actress Gina Hirazumi and D.J. Funkmaster Flex.

Honoring Diversity in the Auto Industry

The Urban Wheel Awards program has also become one of the few annual automotive events to bring together a multi-ethnic audience. It boasts a broader array of media than even the Academy Awards itself could muster. This multicultural event attracts leading executives from practically every major auto company. "Looking into the faces of the audience at the Urban Wheel Awards is like looking at the United Nations' General Assembly, in terms of both diversity and influence," according to Randi Payton, CEO of On Wheels, Inc. "Every ethnic group is represented and many of the most powerful people in the industry are present."

Now in their 11th year, Urban Wheel Awards are presented to the African- American, Asian and Latino automotive executives of the year, as well as the automotive Company and supplier of the year. An independent panel of jurors, comprised of leading automotive and mainstream journalists from across the nation, selects the recipients of the awards. Commitment to diversity is also recognized in the motorsports arena, with the Diversity in Motorsports Award. Naturally, the best new car and truck designed to suit the needs of urban drivers are acknowledged with Urban Wheel Awards as well. In addition to people, products and organizations, Urban Wheel Awards are also presented for the best set of diversity-oriented advertisements of the year. People's choice awards, the Diversity Print Advertisements of the Year are selected by the users of 15 different websites that cater to people of color.

About On Wheels, Inc.

Detroit-based On Wheels, Inc., is a multicultural multi-media company that publishes African-Americans On Wheels, Latinos On Wheels, and Asians On Wheels magazines, which are distributed in more than 100 newspapers throughout the United States and have a combined readership of more than 5 million. Additionally, On Wheels founded the Edward Davis Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to students pursuing secondary degrees in the automotive industry. Since 1996, On Wheels has hosted the annual Urban Wheel Awards; the automotive industry's premier diversity awards ceremony, in conjunction with the North American International Auto Show.